KRETINGA INTERNATIONAL Early Music Festival

An Invitation to Hear Timeless Music

The Kretinga Festival is more than a series of concerts – it is a journey through time. It reveals hidden musical treasures of past centuries and recreates historical sounds, reaching out to the hearts of contemporary listeners. Hear history sing.

About US

Founded in 2017 by its artistic director Rodrigo Calveyra, the Kretinga Early Music Festival grew around a unique historical instrument — the oldest organ in Lithuania (c. 1680), housed in the Kretinga Franciscan Church. Today, the festival stands as one of the most important early music platforms in the Baltic region, celebrating Europe’s rich musica heritage through performances by leading specialists in historically informed performance.

Our Mission

Our mission is to bring to Lithuania the finest early music ensembles and soloists, specialising in historically informed performance, and to revive Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertoire through concerts free of charge. In doing so, we foster a living cultural dialogue between past and present, making early music accessible to all.

2026 Main Program

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Opening Concert

Echoes of Venice

Kretinga Franciscan Church

July 30, 2026

19:00

LES CORNETS NOIRS (Switzerland)

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Singing Recital

Il dono delle lacrime

Kretinga Franciscan Church

August 9, 2026

19:00

ANA QUINTANS, soprano, FERNANDO MIGUEL JALÔTO, organ (Portugal)

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Closing Concert

In Dulci Jubilo

Kretinga Franciscan Church

August 16, 2026

19:00

ACCADEMIA DEL PIACERE (Spain): FAHMI ALQHAI, artistic direction

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Pre-festival concert

Between Breath and Strings

Kretinga Franciscan Church

June 21, 2026

19:00

RODRIGO CALVEYRA, conductor, TEODORO BAÙ – viola da gamba, ANDREA BUCCARELLA – harpsichord, KLAIPĖDA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

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Opening Concert

Echoes of Venice

Kretinga Franciscan Church

July 30, 2026

19:00

LES CORNETS NOIRS (Switzerland)

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The Theatres of Shadows and Lights

Kretinga Franciscan Church

August 1, 2026

19:00

CANTO FIORITO (Lithuania): RODRIGO CALVEYRA, artistic director, RENATA DUBINSKAITĖ, mezzo-soprano

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El dulce trato hablando

Kretinga Franciscan Church

August 4, 2026

19:00

MARIA CRISTINA KIEHR, soprano (Argentina / Switzerland), ARIEL ABRAMOVICH, vihuelas de mano (Argentina / Spain)

2026 Pre-festival Events

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Beneficient concert

Renaissance Music Concert

Padvariai Social Care Home

April 22, 2026

14:30

CANTO FIORITO (Lithuania): RODRIGO CALVEYRA, artistic direction

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Pre-festival concert

Between Breath and Strings

Kretinga Franciscan Church

June 21, 2026

19:00

RODRIGO CALVEYRA, conductor, TEODORO BAÙ – viola da gamba, ANDREA BUCCARELLA – harpsichord, KLAIPĖDA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Kretinga international Early Music Festival is proud to be a free cultural experience for everyone!

We believe that the highest level music should be accessible to all, regardless of background or budget. That’s why all of our concerts are free of charge.

Past Festivals

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The organ of Kretinga? A wonder! To protect, show and make heard to the whole world, in this ideal acoustics of the church.

The Kretinga Early Music Festival has in the past years become one of the important musical events in the Early Music scene, outstanding organization, enthusiastic audience and a wonderful organ, what more could you wish for?

Frithjof Smith

Cornetto professor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

My experience at the Kretinga Early Music Festival, created around the extraordinary organ, is one of the most beautiful I remember in my life, thanks to the similarities I find between Lithuania and Argentina, my home country. I feel the same emotion in Lithuanian listeners.They are eager and hungry for art and music in a way that I rarely experience in other parts of the world.

Leonardo García Alarcón

Artistic director of Capella Mediterranea

First of all, Kretinga’s organ is a treasure. It has an incredibly beautiful and unique sound. It is already very beautiful by itself but it is magical when it mixes with other instruments like violin in my case. The church also has an incredibly beautiful acoustic and it is just perfect for this organ sound and ensemble. All in all, performing (at the Kretinga International Early Music Festival) was truly a unique experience for me.

Ryo Terakado

Professor of baroque violin at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels

Festival is financed by

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